If believing as one of our greatest leaders believed, Theodore Roosevelt, makes me a racist, then I shall proudly bear that title! Because I also believe…

That real heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences and no matter the color of their skin.

That background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become, whether or not we are happy, and what direction our life takes – no matter the color of our skin.

I believe that credentials on the wall or titles behind your name do not make you a decent human being any more than the color of your skin does. It’s what’s in your heart – and the heart knows no color. We all bleed the same.

That when we’re angry we have the right to be angry, such as when we cannot communicate with our neighbors because they refuse to acclimate into our society and learn to communicate WITH US, but that anger doesn’t give me the right to be cruel.

That God loves all people and forgives us all, no matter our sins, no matter our color.

That the happiest of people don’t necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have earned on their own – not obtained free because of their color or race.

That Theodore Roosevelt said it better than anyone could dare hope to when he said:

‘In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin.

But this is predicated upon the person’s becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American…..

There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn’t an American at all.

We have room for but one flag, the American flag…

We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language…

And we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.’

Theodore Roosevelt’s ideas on Immigrants and being an AMERICAN in 1907.